Putney is well-known for being the starting point of the Oxford-Cambridge boat race. It is a nine square kilometre area with a population about the size of Bermuda (I moved from Bermuda to Putney in 2008). In the 1840s, Putney was still a part-wooded, part-agricultural village. As London boomed, it became an international city. I moved there because my brother, his wife and my brand new niece lived around the corner. Many South Africans, New Zealanders, and Australians had the same idea. Afrikaans is not a convenient secret code language in Putney, Earlsfield, Wimbledon, Clapham, Richmond and Fulham. 'Reverse Colonisation'. As Trevor Noah says, we were told it was Great Britain, so we came to see why. The UK is in the same time zone as South Africa, has a deeply intertwined history, shared sporting culture (rugby and cricket), and the Pound goes a lot further than the Rand (if you take it back). The fact that I had friends and family here, made 'leaving home' much like moving cities. I think we can deal with some different, but common ingredients make the transition easier.
For a big city, London gets very quiet. I have been slowly upping the distances I walk each day as I try to morph myself from a usually still person, to a usually moving person. Today, I got to 30km while London was being bathed in sunshine. We get snow days when people can't get to work. On days like today, we should get sun days when people shouldn't get to work. If the jokes about English weather are true, there should be a general agreement that if something really matters, it can wait. Get outside. The beautiful, wide open parks and lakes should be where people are.
Fortunately I could do that so I wandered the quiet rows of houses everyone had vacated to get to their offices. Perhaps Aironc will be an offshoot relative of Airbnb? All these gorgeous homes could act as shared 'office and coffee' places. Instead of sitting empty. Instead of people fighting to get to work in packed tubes.
I like the idea of small, achievable goals that add up. Tim Minchin calls it being micro-ambitious. As soon as goals become very large, just taking the first step becomes very difficult. I also like the idea that the process is even more important than the goal. If we get incredibly good at looking towards some future point, our gaze is still on 'what next' when we are in the moment we have so looked forward to. In less than a years time, if my application is successful, I will be attempting the Unogwaja Challenge. Until earlier this month, I got to frame this as 'the year after next'. Safely enough in the future that the enormity of the task of cycling c. 170km a day for 10 days, and then running the Comrades Marathon is tomorrow's problem. But tick tock. Time waits for no one, no matter how hairy. It is now 'next year' I am aiming for.
A marathon is a long way. Even a half marathon intimidates me. The Comrades is more than twice that. Then there is the cycle bit before you get to the start line. That is the big goal. The goal that makes me sweat a little and people who care about me think I am nuts. I tell them, although not for charity, it is for a good cause.I am not trying to be a hero. I will not destroy myself. Apparently we only think running is bad for us because we spend most of our time on our bums, then try run. This confuses the body. We were in fact, born to run. Then I remember the figure of 170km a day. Ten days. Comrades Marathon. How to start?
So for the next bit, I am not going to think about the goal too much. I am just going to try and enjoy each day as I kuier with London. I am just going to include some walking in the kuiering. I have started 'Urban Hiking' and would like to try walk the length of a marathon in one sitting during the next week or two. I have done 10 miles a few times (one as a very slow run, breaking my distance record). I was staying in Norwood Junction and walked to Brixton and back. On another day I walked to Hoxton Square. On the way I get to see London just doing its thing. I have even, believe it or not, being getting quite a tan. I have also been zooming through Audio books.
A Running Track in Regent's Park I didn't know about
The idea of the Urban Hiking approach started when I went for a run without my phone. I was in an area I didn't know, and decided to trust my nose. I got a little lost and the run eventually became a walk as I tried to figure out my way back. Almost 4 hours later my hosts opened the door to a very tired, but inspired, newborn urban hiker. You can't really get lost in London. There are tube and bus stops all over the place. A cab could easily take you home. You could just run or walk map free until your body starts complaining.
Fancy joining the Circus?
Today's walk has lead me to Crouch End and 'Fifty Five' - a little coffee shop with savoury pancakes. They have free wifi. All these things make me happy. Yes, I am easy to please. My micro-ambitious goal was for today to be a good day. So far, so good.
Part of why I chose to follow a career in finance rather than art was I thought it would be easier to do art as a hobby, and something mathsy as a job than the other way around. It is awesome to do something you love for work. The two other bits of the equation are that it needs to be something you are good at, and something people are willing to pay for. The thorny issue is that art is often about being brave. Creating art is about venturing out into new places and learning. That is often not the stuff that people are willing to pay for. So even if you crack the code and find that perfect match making something people love, will that then mean you can't venture out any more?
A few years back I managed to cash in a little on the mathsy bit as a muse. I started renting a studio at the Wimbledon Art Studios. A converted Industrial park building houses about 140 artists. Twice a year they open their studios to the public. There is a wide range of potters, sculptors, jewellers, photographers and painters. I had the advantage of not having to worry about whether the art sold or not. Well, in theory. In practice, you still want your stuff to sell if only for the validation that you aren't pretending. The trick is that that is a bonus rather than a stick. Artists tend to beat themselves up enough without having to worry about eating.
I was in the studios for over 4 years, and in that time did over 70 paintings and participated in 6 open studios. They start on a Thursday and run for 4 days. It is a wonderful opportunity to get to speak to the artists and people are bound to find something they love given the variety. It was also a chance for me to get to know many of the other artists. Since I came in on the weekends to paint, it was a little quieter. Although I did get to know some of the weekend stalwarts. Once I stopped my day job, I got to join in with a weekly midweek lunch where a group of us got together.
During the time, I took advantage of the lock and go nature of my studio and the ability to make as much mess as I like. I love oil paint but it does make finding a spot to release my crazy a little difficult. For those four years I had that release. I played with colour and texture. Each weekend, I would come in on a Saturday and Sunday for a two or three hour burst of creativity. Then the week would give the oils a chance to dry so I could attack again with forks, combs, knives, brushes, sponges, clothes and whatever I could find that would help me add character to the pieces.
Then twice a year, I would try create a semblance of order so I could show people what I had been up to. The one problem with that was I was trapped in my studio for the four days, unable to wander and see what the other artists had been up to! I would do a little dash every now and then, but if you spend a minute in each studio, it would still take you more than two hours. I think art is a little like wine, chocolate, coffee, cheese and all the other things that dazzle our tongues, eyes and ears. You can over dazzle. I think the perfect way to do it, like a lot of things, is at leisure.
So I am looking forward to doing that tomorrow. I gave up my studio when I purged and decided to go wandering. So for this show, I am going to be able to just enjoy. If you are in London, I hope to see you there. Feel free to feed the artists.
My 'mo'ment comes at around 0:50. The shows are in May and Movember.
